Think Big survey shows barely half support Kings arena plan

It sure is hard for Bites to keep from getting excited during this week of arena-pocalypse. But did you know, most Sacramentans don’t much care if the Sacramento Kings leave town?

That’s the surprising, though not widely circulated, result from a recent poll by arena booster group Think Big.

The Think Big poll plays up the benefits of a new arena, while leaving out the negatives—like costs.

Still, only a very slim majority (51 percent) said the city ought to “proceed with competitive bidding” to see how much money the city could get if privatized city garages to pay for a new arena. About 20 percent were unsure, and 29 percent said no.

That’s not even lukewarm support for the privatization deal, that’s lukewarm support for the next step in a possible privatization deal.

More troubling is this question:

“The Sacramento Kings basketball team may relocate to Seattle or Anaheim. Do you want city officials to fight to keep the Kings in Sacramento? Do you want city officials to let the Kings go? Or does it not matter to you?”

Forty-eight percent of those polled said “fight to keep the Kings.” A slim majority said either, “let the Kings go” (26 percent) or “does not matter” (26 percent).

Funny that Think Big left that question, and a few others, out of the memo they sent to local press last week.

As this column was going to print, a tentative deal had been struck with the NBA and the team-owning Maloof family. The city would kick in the lion’s share—more than $200 million—toward funding for the new arena using city-parking revenue; about $75 million would come from the team owners.

But the all-important term sheet, explaining just how the city’s general fund would be reimbursed all that money, still had not been released. It was due out about the time this issue of SN&R hits the streets.

So, how does the term sheet look, people of the near future? Is it a good deal for Sacramento?

Because just four months ago, the folks at Think Big said in a report to the city council that, “Direct private sector investment and user fees will contribute more than half of the development costs,” of a new arena. Four months later, it looks like the city of Sacramento is picking up much more than half of the burden. Four months ago, Think Big said the “public” part of this public private partnership would come to about $94 million to $123 million. Four months later it’s passed $200 million and climbing. What will it be four months from now?

You’ll recall that a vote on the arena deal got bumped back from February 28 to March 6 in order to, according to a press release from the office of Mayor Kevin Johnson, “ensure adequate time for public and City Council review of any proposed financing plan.”

The subsidy plan has brewing for a year, but all of the most important details, like how to backfill the general fund, are only being revealed at the last minute before the vote.

A tentative deal has been struck. The NBA’s deadline of March 1 has been met. So if the council can move the vote back to the March 6, it can just as easily move it back to March 13, or later.

And it should. There’s not one good reason this deal should rammed through council just four days after it’s been made public.

But there are more than 200 million reasons it will be.